Copeland

Eat, Sleep, Repeat

It's quite a contrast to go from reviewing an aggressive metal band to a soft indie rock band like Copeland, but maybe that's why its dazzling moments sound even more indescribably beautiful than they otherwise would. In any case, "Eat, Sleep, Repeat", Copeland's third full length effort, is a continuation on the path that "In Motion" set out last year, that of silent beauty, where the band avoids using noisy instruments and instead aims to create meaningful atmospheres, as if they are trying to depict the mind of a hopeless romantic or a poet.

Take "Love Affair" for instance. Vocalist/pianist Aaron Marsh's calm, soft vocals gladly take their time while the subtle classical piano and the slow-tempo guitar leads the listener on a journey through his mind. All songs on the album are spacey, with plenty of room for the songs to breathe and expand into directions that would never be found with a tighter sound. The loosely held together piano interlude in the aforementioned track "Love Affair" describes it perfectly, and similarities to this can be found on all tracks, such as "I'm Safer On An Airplane".

Fortunately not all tracks on "Eat, Sleep, Repeat" are based around subtle melodies and silent passages, because otherwise the album wouldn't be good for anything else than just bedtime listening. "By My Side" works as an example of one of the more midtempo tracks. Here the band is perhaps at their noisiest - though how noisy their noisiest exactly is can be disputable - and they integrate some electronica-influenced effects, and Aaron doesn't spare extending his voice beautifully. Most importantly, he doesn't sound like he is whispering any longer, which is why the track stands out from the crowd. The same applies to the title track as well, where the choruses are lush and more energetic, truly highlighting Aaron's fantastic sense of vocal melody as well as the band's ability to use out-of-the ordinary guitar arrangements to create the kind of outer-space sky high melody this band has always aimed for.

Overall, "Eat, Sleep, Repeat" is strong, but not just quite strong enough. The contrast between the quiet songs ("Cover What You Can") and the louder ones (title track) is slightly too sharp, and you'll find yourself venturing back to the highlights time and time again, often skipping a few tracks here and there instead of listening to the album as a whole. But even so, "Eat, Sleep, Repeat" is one of the highlights of the indie rock scene this year, and fans of Copeland's previous work won't be disappointed with this one either.